


The Crow and The Weasel

by BinguRani



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:01:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24389341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BinguRani/pseuds/BinguRani
Summary: Kobayashi Tatsuo is Karasuno's Assistant Coach and she is a dragon on the court. With her strategies they have made it to national's and now is when she needs to focus more than ever. Unfortunately it seems like volleyball won't be the only thing that will capture her attention. She might have just found her Soulmate. Does he actually have the same mark as her? Would he even want her?Soulmate AU where Soulmates have the exact same tattoo in the exact same spot.
Relationships: Sakusa Kiyoomi/Reader
Comments: 46
Kudos: 99
Collections: oc self insertSI





	1. Chapter 1

Karasuno was once a powerhouse. Supposedly they were well known, a force to be reckoned with. Now though, Karasuno was a fallen champion. People called them the 'clipped wing crows'. Tatsuo heard all of these things before she transferred there for her second year of high school. She was upset that she was having to transfer and leave her team and her friends. Tatsuo was even more upset that her father had gone back on his promise. He had promised her that he wouldn't make their family move again unless they were going to a bigger city. Instead of being in the middle of Kyoto she was now going to be on the outskirts of Miyagi. She was definitely not fond when she had initially packed her things.

Tatsuo had tried to make the best of her situation though and it seemed to have helped her quite a bit. She had managed to get accepted into a managers role on the boy's volleyball team and made friends with all of them too. She had even helped Kiyoko to recruit their first year manager Yachi. She had been through ups and downs with the teams and was more than excited to see how Nationals would play out this year. Surprisingly there was nothing missing from her life even after her crappy move.

Nothing was missing except for one thing. The one thing that all the kids her age dreamed of finding. Tatsuo just hadn't found her Soulmate yet. She had been approached by a few hopefuls but their tattoo never matched hers. Tatsuo's tattoo started on her neck and went down across her shoulder. It was of a crow with red eyes looking down from a cherry blossom branch at a weasel. As far as she knew it was one of the biggest Soulmate tattoos that she had ever seen or heard of. It wasn't too surprising that many of her team members had some kind of crow for their Soulmate tattoo but none of theirs had been in the right spot or included the weasel, though Asahi's did have a rabbit which was beyond adorable.

Many of the guys had given her speculations on where she could find her Soulmate, though Ryu and Noya had made it a game to see who could come up with the most ridiculous idea. Whenever there was a practice match or the team traveled, Ryu and Noya came up with their ideas even suggesting that she check out Coach Nekomata's Soulmate tattoo. It never bothered Tatsuo though when they joked about it with her. It wasn't like they had found their own Soulmate's yet either so it was all in good fun.

“I think you'll meet your Soulmate in college,” Hinata mused as he listened to Ryu and Noya begin their game.

“Nah, Suo is going to meet her Soulmate at Nationals. He's going to be the manager for one of the girl's teams and he's going to mistake her for one of the players for another team,” Noya's eyes sparkled as he imagined the encounter.

“Noya, you're ridiculous. He's going to be in the crowd cheering on his little brother as we destroy him and he's going to look across the court and see our beautiful Dragon-chan. That's how she's going to meet her Soulmate,” Ryu said with a triumphant smirk.

“You're going to meet your Soulmate at Nationals,” Kageyama said without turning to look at her.

“Hm? Why would you say that Tobio-kun?” Tatsuo asked. She had never heard Kageyama add into the game. He had always ignored it.

“I just think you will,” Kageyama replied before putting his earphones back in.

“I feel like there's more to it than that but okay,” Tatsuo shrugged and snuggled a little deeper into her seat resting her head on Noya's head. “You guys can keep playing your game but I'm going to try to nap through the rest of this trip.”

“Alright Dragon-chan get some sleep,” Ryu said as Noya huffed at the fact that she was using him as a pillow.

  
  


It wasn't entirely surprising that the rest of the trip had flown by once Tatsuo had fallen asleep. Noya had woken her up when they had pulled up to the Jaybird Inn and she proceeded out of the bus and helped Kiyoko and Yachi get all the boys rounded up and in the Inn with all their things. Of course a couple of the boys left their small things on the bus and that was where Tatsuo came in. She grabbed all the small bags, headphones, small devices, books, even a bento box, and went into the lobby where she handed all of the guys their things.

“Okay everyone, once you put all your things into your rooms, meet back here and we're going to go over to the gym for the opening ceremony,” Coach Ukai said as he handed out the keys to all the team members and managers. “Don't wanna be late on our first day at the Nationals.”

“Don't forget to make sure that you wear your uniform and appropriate shoes. If you don't have it when we get there then you'll have to sit with me, Yachi, and Kiyoko while everyone else participates in the opening ceremony,” Tatsuo reminded as she forcibly pushed Ryu's bag into his chest. He would be the one to forget his uniform on the bus.

“Ah, thank you Dragon-chan. I knew I was forgetting something,” Ryu blushed as he scratched the back of his head. Tatsuo smiled lightly and nodded while walking with the other two girls to their room.

“Seems like Ryu might be a bit nervous,” Kiyoko said with a contemplative look as she looked in her small bag for something.

“Well I think they all are a little bit. I don't think they really realize that it's nervousness though,” Tatsuo responded quietly.

“Once we get past the first game I think we'll all calm down,” Yachi said though she sounded more worried than the other two entirely.

Tatsuo nodded and opened the door to their room to drop their things off so that they could join the guys on their trip to the gymnasium. It was going to be a very hectic day and she was honestly worried about how she could handle it. Tatsuo wasn't quite as nervous as Yachi but she was definitely less confident than Kiyoko, especially when it came to crowds of people. She wasn't really shy but she was very timid and quiet in her own right and it was probably what had drawn her to be such close friends with Ryu and Noya who were both loud and probably a bit overprotective of her. They helped balance her out in everyday life so when she was alone with people other than them she seemed to sink a bit back into herself. The two managers were used to it at this point but it still put Yachi a bit more on edge.

“Let's get going to the opening ceremony. It's going to be our first time so we should all enjoy it together,” Kiyoko said with a bright smile to the other two managers who both blushed and nodded in return.

The ride to the gym had been fairly uneventful and the guys seemed to have at least swallowed their nerves for the moment. As they made their way into the crowded lobby holding all the teams, the team seemed to split into smaller factions of itself and suddenly it was as if the black uniforms blended in perfectly with the array of colors filling the lobby. At first Tatsuo stuck by Ryu and Noya but when Ryu started talking to his childhood friend that Noya almost fell into she branched off to see how the first year setter was doing.

“What's up Kageyama? Sup?” A guy with brown hair and really round eyebrows in a lime green and yellow jersey asked as he approached the pair.

“Ah, Komori-san. You're here?” Kageyama turned and responded as Tatsuo made herself as small as possible behind the setter.

“Yeah. How you doin'?” Komori asked.

“Good,” Kageyama answered shortly. Tatsuo knew that he wasn't trying to be rude and that it was just his personality but even she cringed a bit at how rude he sounded.

“You're not nervous?” Kormori continued to question, making Tatsuo think that maybe he was used to the younger's personality already.

“No,” Kageyama responded. “Is this your second time at the spring tournament, Komori-san?”

“Yup and I'm still not used to it,” Komori smiled and Tatsuo questioned the sanity of the person that was able to smile while talking to such a rude first year.

“Sakusa-san's not with you?” Kageyama asked flatly though for some reason Tatsuo stuck her head out from behind his back and looked around questioningly. That name sparked something in her though she had no idea what it was. She figured that maybe he was just famous in volleyball like Ushijima but she still couldn't really place the name itself.

“Sakusa's over there,” Komori answered as he grimaced and pointed over his shoulder. “He absolutely hates crowds.”

Tatsuo looked over to where Komori was pointing and saw a tall guy in the same uniform with his jacket draped over his shoulders scowling behind his white face mask. The longer she looked at him the more she felt the urge to smile. It was kind of cute how uncomfortable he was.

At that thought Tatsuo shook her head violently trying to rid herself of the ridiculous thought. She didn't think he was cute, she didn't even know him. She did her best from then on to avoid looking over at Sakusa, though she couldn't stop herself from glancing at him every now and then. Komori was pretty interesting though so she didn't even really notice herself doing it too much.

“Hi there, I'm Komori Motoya,” Komori said as he finally caught sight of Tatsuo.

“Hello, I'm Kobayashi Tatsuo,” Tatsuo responded quietly, bowing slightly from her spot behind Kageyama.

“She's our second year manager. He's one of the liberos that was invited to the training camp,” Kageyama said flatly as he turned towards Tatsuo. “Sakusa is one of the wing spikers that was invited. They're both second years so you should be able to speak comfortably with them.”

“Don't assume things Kageyama-kun. Just because we're the same age doesn't mean we know each other. There has to be some kind of formality,” Tatsuo mumbled as she gripped onto Kageyama's jacket and looked down to the floor.

“Oh! You're the second year manager Kageyama talked about so much! Wow, I never would have guessed you'd be this shy,” Komori said as she turned her head and pouted.

“She's not shy just not very social. I think it's anxiety from a trauma,” Kageyama said bluntly.

“Since when do you ever care about someone else?” Tatsuo asked narrowing her eyes at the setter.

“You care about everyone on the team, why can't I care about you?” Kageyama mumbled and looked away with a glare of his own.

“Sounds like you have your own Sakusa then,” Komori laughed as he watched the two interact. They reminded him of siblings even though they were related.

“What do you mean by that?” Kageyama asked turning back to face the libero.

“Sakusa's problems could probably be fixed with therapy but he doesn't see anything wrong with how he's living,” Komori answered tapping his chin thoughtfully.

“What kind of issues could he really have?” Tatsuo asked as she peeked around Komori to look at Sakusa again.

“Ah well, he's a hypochondriac, and a germaphobe. I think there was something that caused it when he was a kid but he doesn't see the issue with it,” Komori answered almost too quickly for Tatsuo's liking. Was he really friends with Sakusa if he was willing to say this to someone he didn't know?

“It's a well known fact that Itachiyama's Sakusa-san is a germaphobe,” Kageyama said as he reached up and patted Tatsuo's hair. She had been pouting even though she hadn't noticed and feeling Kageyama's hand on her hair brought her back to reality a bit.

“Thank you for waiting. We will now begin the opening ceremonies for the National High School Volleyball Tournament, otherwise known as the Spring Tournament,” The announcer's voice came through the speakers and all the teams began to line up as the orchestra began to play.

Tatsuo and the other managers made their way out to the balcony to watch the procession. The three girls smiled and cheered for their team seeing the looks of excitement on their faces. Tatsuo couldn't help but smile lightly to herself. They had worked so hard to finally make it here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bear with me as this might be a bit disjointed but I'm trying lol... I need more Soulmate AU content and if people aren't going to write it I guess I will lol...


	2. Chapter 2

After the opening ceremony the team got back on the bus and headed out to the Jay Bird Inn. The ride was much more solemn than Tatsuo had figured it would be but she wasn't really that upset about it. With it this quiet she was able to take some time and listen to music and calm her own nerves. Tomorrow was going to be their first game and that meant it would be Tatsuo's first time on the National's court as an Assistant Coach. She was beyond worried, even if she had been on center court for the Shirotorizawa game.

“Don't stress so much Dragon-chan,” Ryu said as he looked her over.

“Yeah Suo-chan. No use stressin' out when you haven't even had to do anythin' yet,” Noya also chimed from her other side.

“I can't really help it though. It's so much pressure and I don't really know how to handle it,” Tatsuo said as she pulled the earphones out of her ear. The music hadn't really been helping anyways.

“The moment you step foot on the court you'll be fine Dragon-chan,” Ryu chuckled.

“Yeah, you're a completely different person when you're on the court Suo-chan,” Noya said with a shiver.

“I'm not that different! I'm just a bit more assertive,” Tatsuo pouted as she slumped into her seat a bit deeper. The two boys on either side of her began laughing starting a raucous on the bus. The tension had finally left and the boys' nervousness began to take over.

When they got back to the inn, the night passed quickly. The boys watched the promo videos, studied, went for a run, and held their own little meetings while the girls took a bath and got ready for the next day. Kiyoko and Yachi had had a far more productive night, bonding more than they had the entire time Yachi had been apart of the team. Tatsuo, however, had been stuck in her own head, just like she was before every game. She didn't know what it was but every game was like her first and she had no idea how to stop herself from panicking. She just knew that she had to get herself to calm down enough to sleep and get onto the court tomorrow where her instincts could take over instead of her anxiety.

  
  


Morning came almost too quickly after sleep had claimed the team. They had gone through warm up, gotten to the gym, and found that Hinata had lost his shoes. Kiyoko had of course taken the job of fetching them once they were located but that made Tatsuo terrified of what was coming.

Yachi had to be acting manager.

Tatsuo wasn't really sure how she felt about it but there wasn't anything she could do. She wasn't even remotely sure what to say to Yachi either. She was going to have to deal with her trial by fire on her own and Tatsuo wasn't really sure how she would respond to it.

Their warm up in the gym went by quickly but just before the boys were supposed to line up, Kiyoko appeared on the balcony, tossing Hinata's bag to Yachi. The shoe problem having been solved, the game was set to begin. There wasn't anything off any more and no more chances to fix anything anyways. Though Tatsuo saw a problem coming right away.

Tatsuo tapped her right index finger onto her bottom tooth. The spacial issue was going to be a major problem for the first set and she needed to figure out how to explain it to Kageyama. He was going to be the most affected by how tall the ceiling was and it wasn't going to be easy getting over it. Tatsuo, who usually sat on the bench closest to the end near the referee had chosen to stand for this set. She didn't entirely trust the outcome of this set and it put her on edge.

The match began and it swiftly became apparent that Tatsuo's worry was well founded. She began to tap her tooth more quickly, eyes flitting between members of both teams trying to formulate a plan of action before she got to her first time out. She needed to be able to give them something by then but she was drawing a blank. She didn't know how to fix Kageyama's issue or how to tell him to fix it. It was something he had to figure out on his own.

“I'm sorry. Give me just a little more time,” Kageyama said as the other team scored yet another point. Thankfully his statement gave Tatsuo room to look at other strategies rather than just their spacial issue.

By the time the ref called for the time out, Tatsuo was ready. The team gathered and Yachi passed out the towels and the water bottles. Ukai and Takeda gave their own small speeches before the team turned their attention to Tatsuo. For the first time since the match began, Tatsuo stopped tapping her tooth and looked intensely in each player's eyes.

“You've figured out your space. Good job. Now you need to pay attention to where you're hitting. Try to knock out their best spiker. He seems to be their only real hitter, the others mostly got around us by taking advantage of our spacial issue,” Tatsuo looked over at the other team before smirking and narrowing her eyes to look back at her team. “Also, don't be afraid to talk about your past conquests.”

That was Tatsuo's strategy. Mess with their heads. They were definitely not one of the strongest opponents that Karasuno would have to play at this tournament but they were definitely the most nervous. Tatsuo wanted to take advantage of that. This was why Ryu called her Dragon-chan. She was ruthless and was vicious on the court. Her strategies were the absolute best and had definitely been how they got so far.

When the team got back on the court the momentum continued to fall with the crows and they took the first set. Even with the appearance of Tsubakihara's pinch server, the boys were fairly relieved to have taken the set. Tatsuo would take advantage of the less nervous nature of the team, she would make sure that they performed even better in the second set. When the teams went back to the court, Tatsuo would make sure that they took this match in consecutive sets.

“Don't take your eyes off their number four. He's going to be even more riled up after that hit to the head but take advantage of his irritation. He'll be more likely to try to show off which makes him predictable. Tsukki, keep a close eye on his movements when you're in the front row. Hinata, I don't know exactly what you did at that camp but I need you to bring it together just a bit better. Don't just let the ball hit your face. You bleed and you're off the court and that's all there is to it so, Stop. Hitting. Your. Face,” Tatsuo glared a bit at the orange fluff ball as she poked her finger rather hard into his chest emphasizing her last words to him. “All of you, go out there and take this match.”

“Dragon-chan, don't hurt the kid. He's doing his best,” Ryu said as he lightly patted Tatsuo's shoulder. She didn't bother responding, simply turning her head to glare at him instead. A visible shiver racked his body as he removed his hand from her shoulder. “Or not.”

Tatsuo took back her spot on the bench and began analyzing immediately. They sent in their pinch server fairly quickly and it was obvious why. That ceiling serve was a problem. It only took one before Tatsuo was figuring her team a way out of it. The lights would be in their eyes and make life difficult but with it being as high as it was, they had time. She figured it out as quickly as the whistle for the second serve.

“STOP STANDING STILL AS STATUES AND MOVE UNTIL YOU CAN SEE THE BALL! YOU'VE GOT PLENTY OF TIME!” Tatsuo screams at the top of her lungs with a glare at her side of the court.

That spurred the boys on. They started moving around the court and finally were seeing the ball. The problem was that now they were trying to not run into each other. They gave away another point, making Tatsuo grind her teeth. She was ready to yell at them again when Daichi did it for her. He was far more positive than she was going to be but she accepted the response from the boys. They didn't miss the next one.

After the team got their act together for the ceiling serve, the rest of the set went pretty smoothly afterwards. They took the second set and Tatsuo felt her shoulder relax. She went through the line up and shook hands with the other team. By the time she stepped off the court Tatsuo was completely calm and back to her usual introverted self. She could feel all of the tenacious Coaching instincts leave her and she let out a long sigh.

“That was great advice Tatsuo, the ball was almost impossible to see until we started moving,” Daichi praised as he patted her shoulder.

“Thank you,” Tatsuo said as she shrunk into herself from the praise, not sure how to handle it. “I think I'm going to go try to find a shirt or something. Thank you.”

The team hummed their acknowledgement of the statement before Tatsuo left. They all knew that once off the court she needed a bit of time to herself to recharge. It was a hard change for the girl. Tatsuo made a quick escape into the lobby to take a bit for herself.

It was as she was inspecting a shirt that read 'The tongue is but three inches long, yet it can kill a man six feet high',she figured it was meant for coaches, that she noticed him. He was standing at the next booth over looking like he had swallowed three lemons. The shadow over his eyes a stark contrast to his friends. For some reason Tatsuo couldn't really take her eyes off of him. He was.... interesting. Sakusa Kiyoomi had drawn her fascination.

As Tatsuo was making her way towards the two, a passerby knocked into the taller boy's back causing the jacket he was wearing to fall to the ground. Tatsuo caught sight of the mark that stretched onto Sakusa's neck and was brought to a standstill. It was a crow. There, on the same side of his neck as hers, was a large black crow with red eyes with a cherry blossom branch behind it. It was almost the exact same mark she had. The lower half on his shoulder was covered by his uniform shirt unfortunately but there was no mistaking the crow.

Before she really understood what was happening, Tatsuo was running. She ran out of the lobby and into the brisk January air. She brought deep cold breaths through her mouth trying to calm herself. She really might have just found her Soulmate. And he really just had to be one of the most talked about high school volleyball players in the country. He was on track to going pro as soon as he was out of school and he was well known even in the smallest of towns. He had even graced the cover of magazines!

All those thoughts didn't help her at all. They only made her anxiety spike even higher. How was she supposed to be Soulmates with someone so popular and make him happy? She didn't have any idea what she was supposed to do.

Suddenly a new problem came to the front of her mind. How was she even supposed to tell him that he's her Soulmate? She wasn't even certain herself yet. How did she get him to show her his full mark? 'Hey Sakusa-san! Seems like I might be your Soulmate, do you mind pulling down your shirt and letting me see your full mark?' Yeah that didn't sound like something she could say outside the confines of her mind, let alone to her potential Soulmate. Everything about this just sucked.

“Hey Suo-chan, the Fukurodani match is happening in the secondary arena and Nekoma is on over here. Which one do you want to watch?” Noya said as he ran up to her. “Whoa, Suo-chan, what's going on? Are you okay?”

“I... uh... Yeah... I'm fine,” Tatsuo said quickly, wiping her hands down her face. She noticed the dampness as she pulled her hands away. “Sorry, I just freaked out a bit getting off the court.”

“You sure? You look a bit more messed up than usual,” Noya said as he inspected Tatsuo's face a little more closely.

“Yeah. It's more pressure here. That's all,” Tatsuo said as she smiled a bit and wrapped her arm around Noya's. “Let's go watch Nekoma. I'm going to have a time and a half trying to formulate a strategy against that sweet little pudding head of theirs.”

“You know when you're on the court you're scary, but when you talk about building strategies while you're off the court it's terrifying,” Noya said as he shivered at her tone change.

“What do you mean?” Tatsuo asked quietly, turning her head slightly to catch sight of Noya's eyes.

“You're just.... I don't know... more meek when you're not on the court. When you talk about strategies though, you start sounding like you do when the whistle blows,” Noya confessed a bit scared of the reaction he was going to get.

“I'm sorry,” Tatsuo said as she ducked her head down so that her jackets collar could cover some of the blush that was now spread across her cheeks.

“Don't worry about it Suo-chan. We all know that you don't want to be so anxious,” Noya said as he happily bumped his hip into hers. “We're all still here for you, scary or anxious. We'll take care of you as best we can. We won't even hand you over to your Soulmate if we don't think they're good enough for you.”

“I think we'll find that out pretty soon,” Tatsuo mumbled into her jacket.

“What was that Suo-chan?” Noya asked with a big smile as they entered the door to the gym. Tatsuo's eyes immediately began scanning the crowd looking for Sakusa. When her eyes found him they stayed locked on him.

“Nothing. Don't worry about it Noya-kun,” Tatsuo said before they made their way to the balcony where the rest of the team sat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know I probably am the absolute worst at writing action scenes and especially the volleyball games but the games aren't really the point of this story so I'm trying to not get too caught up in them since if I did I'd probably end up just writing the manga almost word for word until I was done with the games soooooooooooooo not gonna do that and just gonna hope that you have read the manga and know what actually happens lol... I am trying though I promise....


	3. Chapter 3

“Tomorrow we play the team that came in second during the past Interhigh. Hyogo Prefecture representative Inarizaki High School,” Ukai started the planning part of their meeting drawing Tatsuo's full attention along with the rest of the guys. “They're one of the favorites to win the whole thing.”

Ukai continued to discuss the players and their own troubles that they will present for a while before handing it over to Tatsuo. She had spent hours pouring over videos of Inarizaki games and had learned a bit about their play style and what their real strengths were on the court. Ukai had given a fairly decent run down but it didn't really cover everything she had learned. After taking a deep cleansing breath, Tatsuo began her own run down.

“Inarizaki is no laughing matter and should be taken deadly serious, even more so than Shiratorizawa. Their school is prided on it's volleyball team and it's cheering section. The cheering section could be a problem for us and you need to entirely block it out when you're serving. I don't care if you have to sing to yourself out loud like a crazy person on the court to block it out, just do it. The cheering section is big and loud and ruthless, they'll try to set a crazy rhythm for your serve and if you don't know how to look past it you're going to get carried away with it,” Tatsuo looked directly into Asahi's and Ryu's eyes and saw that she had put the fear of god into them. They were her biggest concerns serving wise. “The two canons we of course need to keep our eyes on but especially that Suna guy. Apparently he's a slow burning kind of player. He gets better as the game goes on and he is a bendy guy. I wish I had better words to be able to explain that to you but even I can't really figure out how to stop his bendy antics from being a problem for us at first. You're just going to have to get used to him.”

“Miya Atsumu. He's our biggest problem by far. His serves are ridiculous, he can set the ball from just about anywhere on the court and make it perfect, and he's the kick in the ass that the team seems to need most. His serves are surprisingly the most easy thing to deal with once you get used to the force of them. He uses Jump Floaters and Spike Serves but there is one distinguishable trait to them. When he's stepping off the back line to set up for the serve, count his steps. If it's six steps, be ready for a Spike Serve. If it's only four, it's a Jump Floater,” Tatsuo watched the guys eyes collectively widen in awe at her deduction. They all appeared tempted to start asking questions and becoming rambunctious but a quick glare from the girl ended that quickly. “There's nothing we can do about his beautiful sets, they're just going to happen so don't let it get to you and be ready to block a quick at any time. Now there's one more thing you need to remember, Miya Osamu. He's not as prestigious as his twin but he is the Hinata to Atsumu's Kageyama. Do you understand?”

“What do you mean by that Suo-chan?” Noya asked as he cocked his head to the side.

“We've all seen Hinata's blind trust in Kageyama correct? Well the Miya twins might have even more blind trust in each other than those two. They can pull off just about anything they want to without much practice or communication, almost as if they can read each others mind. They are a combination that should be respected and feared just like our Freak Duo,” Tatsuo looked down at her notebook that was sitting on her lap with all the notes she had taken on the videos she had watched. “The last thing I'm going to warn you about is their Captain. Shinsuke Kita might not have the highest stats or the longest list of awards and achievements but he is a force unlike any other on the court. As far as I can tell he's about the only one that can manage to fully calm and contain the Miya's let alone the rest of the team. He is not at all emotional on the court and can always be described as cool and collected and appears to be able to make the rest of the team feel the same way. Don't let him catch you off guard.”

Tatsuo looked over the boys who all seemed to be taking her words fully to heart. She ended her speech and handed it back over to Ukai who gave the line up changes and basics of tomorrow's schedule to the guys while Tatsuo stood and exited the room to go get ready to sleep. She could tell that tomorrow was going to be a long day and she wanted to be well rested and prepared. It didn't really help that every time that she tried to take her mind off the match coming up that it went straight to a certain Ace with curly hair. He was going to be the death of her, whether or not he was her Soulmate.

Tatsuo's sleep was troubled that night. Between the big game coming up and the possibility of having found her Soulmate didn't really help anything. Her normal anxiety was now replaced with a stronger brand of anxiety, strong enough to make her chest so tight she could barely breathe. It wasn't really anything all that new to her though, she had struggled with it all her life, so thankfully her breathing exercises stopped her from going into a full blown panic attack. She needed to figure out some kind of strategy to deal with Sakusa, that was her last thought before her eyes finally closed for the night.

  
  


The time had finally come. Karasuno and Inarizaki had shaken hands, bowed, and even flipped the coin. The game was on and Tatsuo sat on the bench tapping her nail to her tooth again, trying to focus on strategy. The Inarizaki cheering section was more deafening than she had really believed it to be and she could already see that it was having an affect on the players. Atsumu's first serve was a canon straight off the bat and Ukai told the boys to loosen up before Tatsuo could even get to it. Her mind was already trying to figure out some way to counter that killer serve, it was just far more impressive in person than on tape. Luckily the second serve was long and put Karasuno on the board and the offensive.

“Booooo!” The Inarizaki cheering section clamored as Asahi walked back for his serve. Tatsuo watched as a shadow crossed her senior's eyes before he served right into the net.

“Breathe! Stop worrying about anything else and focus on the court not the stands!” Tatsuo yelled drawing Asahi's attention and making him shrink in on himself a bit.

The game continued on in a similar manner for a while making the girl more and more irritated. She spent most of the time glaring at the boys rather than telling them anything. She didn't really see the point in saying anything if they weren't even able to focus long enough to actually put even the slightest bit of strategy into action. Watching Hinata jump up and forget to hit the ball was the last straw though. The anger was evident on her face and she was pretty sure that Hinata was avoiding her gaze in fear of the inevitable.

“HINATA! IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HIT THE BALL THEN GET OFF THE COURT!” Tatsuo's voice carried throughout the gym, even drawing the eyes of spectators that were there for other teams.

“I'm sorry!” Hinata yelled and bowed a full ninety degrees before turning and setting his gaze onto the next server. The bendy boy was up and he wasn't going to risk getting yelled at like that again.

Suna hit his serve right at the whistle sent the ball to the corner of the court where Daichi managed to bump it up just enough for Hinata to bump it up a bit higher for Ryu to spike it to the other side. Omimi and Osamu were there to try to block Ryu's spike, though they only managed to deflect it. That didn't deter Atsumu who turned his first touch into a set for Ojiro. Ojiro slammed the ball down past Kageyama's block with seemingly no problem and stole a point from Karasuno.

“Dammit. That bendy guy is far more of an issue than I thought,” Tatsuo grumbled through her teeth and index finger that was tapping a bit more aggressively.

Suna's second serve was almost perfectly aligned with the whistle causing Karasuno to get caught up in the unrealistic pace that Inarizaki was trying to set. Daichi barely managed to lunge forward in time to get himself underneath the ball and bump it up. It was long and he called out an apology to Kageyama who was already mid jump to try to set it.

“Easy guys! Slow down!” Shimada yelled above the raucous crowd of fans. “Don't get caught up in their pace!”

Tatsuo silently thanked the man for yelling out her thoughts exactly. It didn't matter how many times she told them to ignore Inarizaki's pace, the boys were going to react at least a bit on instinct when the ball came to them. They needed to figure out a way to make the pace fit them, not make themselves fit the pace.

At the absolute last second Kageyama turned, sending the ball into the blockers for a rebound. This successfully stopped the insane pace that the volley had been taking and allowed for Noya to get up under the ball and send it beautifully arcing back to Kageyama who was looking to send it to Hinata. The short boy found himself face to face with an intimidating Omimi though and swiftly ran to the other side of the court where Kageyama delivered the ball perfectly for Hinata to smash down past Suna.

“Don't just run away because you're scared of an intimidating face Hinata! You're going to have to face him eventually so get used to it now!” Tatsuo yelled from the sidelines knowing that the middle blocker was thinking about how he had almost ran into Omimi.

“Yes ma'am!” Hinata yelled with a shocked look on his face. He knew that Tatsuo could read pretty much all of the guys but sometimes it was scary how well she knew them.

Tatsuo groaned as she heard the Inarizaki cheering section began booing for Kageyama's serve. Thankfully not much later Karasuno's own taiko cheering section showed up, making their offensive plays just a little bit stronger since they were helping to drown out the other noise. Even with the new cheering, the game was a hard fought battle and the boys had their work cut out for them.

  
  


Tatsuo was pretty sure that the entirety of the arena was picking their jaws off the ground along with her when Kageyama and Hinata managed to block Atsumu and Osamu's copycat quick and scored the winning point. It had been a ridiculously hard fought game and Tatsuo was almost certain that she would be hoarse the next day. Three sets. It had taken a full three sets for the boys to pull out a victory over the top contenders. It was definitely an upset for Inarizaki and a very very proud moment for Karasuno.

“Dragon-chan! We did it!” Ryu yelled as he and Noya bum rushed the smaller girl before the adrenaline could leave her.

“Yeah once you finally stopped being so in your own head about your skills!” Tatsuo yelled back at Ryu who was picking her up and swinging her around before passing her over to Noya.

“If it weren't for you I don't think we would have made it Suo-chan! You're the best!” Noya yelled as he finally set the girl back on the ground.

“All I did was yell ideas at you guys. You're the ones that actually put them to use,” Tatsuo said with a wide smile as she looked over at the rest of the guys.

“Well, I mean, what's a team without a good coach?” Noya replied with a bright eye smile. The two then gave Tatsuo one last hug each before joining the others, allowing the girl to begin her rehabilitation time.

Tatsuo smiled at the group of boys one more time before moving to escape from the gym. She was definitely ready to take some time to herself and breathe and maybe think through her possible problem with Sakusa. She still really needed to figure that out. She made her way into the lobby and quickly took off her jacket. She didn't really want anyone to stop her to try to interview her or talk to her after that crazy match. She just wanted to recharge a bit before heading back to the inn. Tatsuo closed her eyes and sighed deeply as she continued her trek before her shoulder bumped harshly into something.

“Oh! I'm sorry! Are you okay?” Tatsuo opened her eyes to see Komori from Itachiyama looking her over in a very concerned manner as he was flanked by Sakusa. Tatsuo froze at the sight of the ace and couldn't seem to even make herself breathe.

“You really should watch where you're going Komori. You'll catch people's germs like that,” Sakusa grimaced and looked down his nose at his companion.

“I know, I know. I'm really sorry. Are you okay though? I didn't hurt you right?” Komori continued his inspection of Tatsuo before his eyes landed on the Soulmate mark that was extending up Tatsuo's neck. “Hey! Her mark looks like yours Sakusa! Could you show us the rest of yours?”

“That's inappropriate Komori,” Sakusa stated as Tatsuo none the less continued to reach up and pull the collar of her shirt down to show the top of her shoulder where the end of her mark with the weasel was.

“It's the same as yours Sakusa! She's your Soulmate!” Komori exclaimed turning to look at Sakusa who was looking at Tatsuo's mark with furrowed brows.

“She can't be my Soulmate,” Sakusa said matter of factly. Tatsuo's arm went limp and fell to her side causing her shirt to recover her mark. Tatsuo tried to search Sakusa's face for any sign that he was just caught off guard.

All Tatsuo saw was a scowl.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this was exactly when I realized I was spending way too much time on the game and had to figure out how to skip it without entirely skipping the drama (I guess that's what I'd call it?). Sorry if the time skip seems to come out of nowhere or if it seems disjointed but again I'm trying to focus more on the extracurricular things not the games so yeah might be awful but again I'm trying....


	4. Chapter 4

Tatsuo couldn't remember how she left Sakusa's presence. She couldn't even remember the trip back to the inn. All she could remember was the look on Sakusa's face when he said she couldn't be his Soulmate. She had always had some insecurities about meeting her Soulmate but she hadn't even considered this outcome. It wasn't unheard of but a very minimal amount of Soulmate's ended up rejecting their Soulmate. She had never thought it could happen to her though.

Tatsuo knew there were people like Kuroo, who didn't believe in the concept of a Soulmate being the perfect person for you, and Bokuto, who didn't even pay any attention to Soulmates, but she didn't really think that they would be singing the same tune when they finally met theirs. She was absolutely devastated by the rejection and she couldn't imagine how she was going to cope. She couldn't seem to really comprehend what it really meant to have been rejected. She tried very hard to simply focus on what was in front of her but every face turned into Sakusa's scowl. She didn't even snap out of it until Coach Ukai asked her to chime in on strategy.

“Kobayashi-chan? Do you have anything to add?” Ukai's voice broke her trance. Tatsuo looked up and around at the boys before shaking her head.

“You've all faced Nekoma many, many.... many times. You know how strong they are and what their weak points are. At this point I don't have much to offer you in the form of strategy. I think that this is a battle that you all need to fight for yourselves. No matter what happens on that court tomorrow, you've done amazing things and I am immensely proud to know that you're all my teammates and that you've worked so very hard for this. I think that you're more than prepared for this game and I think you're all amazing players,” Tatsuo finished with a small smile to all of the guys, making Ryu and Noya burst into tears and bum rush her for a group hug.

Tatsuo returned the boys hug and almost immediately went back into her trance when it ended. She really had no idea what to do with any situation. She knew that she needed to let the boys win or lose this grudge match on their own and she didn't have a clue what to do with her Soulmate issues. She also knew that she couldn't tell any of the boys before their game. All her trance did was make her feel numb. It made her unsure of everything but she knew she needed to focus for the boys. They deserved her full attention the next day. She smacked both her cheeks as the meeting ended and went to the managers's room to catch some sleep. She couldn't resolve anything if she didn't at least try to get some rest.

  
  


Tatsuo was able to put the rejection at the back of her mind by the morning. She pulled the last bit of her determination and will power together and put on the best “coach face” that she could. The Battle at the Garbage Dump was something she couldn't ignore or give less than 100% of her attention. The boys weren't nervous and she could practically feel the excitement radiating off of them. It could almost feed the will power to keep her focus on the game.

“I'm going to make you proud Dragon-chan,” Ryu said coming to stand beside Tatsuo while facing the court with his eyes set in fierce determination.

“We'll settle this once and for all,” Noya added coming up to stand on Tatsuo's other side in much the same way as Ryu.

“I'm already so proud of you guys. This fight is yours and I want you to enjoy it to the fullest,” Tatsuo responded, keeping her eyes focused on the court too.

Before she knew it the warm up, line up, and coin toss had happened. Tatsuo sat on the bench clenching her hands and trying to avoid the draw of the court and keep her coaching to a minimum. She was serious when she said it was a fight the guys needed to fight on their own. They were holding their own fairly well and the first set still went to Nekoma.

The second set was almost more difficult than the first. Kageyama and Hinata rolled out their new move though and took Kenma a bit by surprise. Tatsuo didn't believe that anything could completely catch Kenma off guard but she knew that the pudding head had a hard time believing his own eyes judging by how wide they got. She knew that he had to have heard about it from the Inarizaki game but it was Kenma's first time seeing the higher jump that Hinata was capable of and the trust that Kageyama was giving him. There was a certain imposing nature to the two as it was but add in their new attack and the monsters were even more intimidating. Watching Kuroo's jaw clench as he tried to block them made Tatsuo smirk a bit. The satisfaction of watching the devious cat being cornered by a murder of crows was intense.

The last set was intense to say the least. The boys were hyper focused on their moves and it was paying off. There was not one mistake made on the court. Everyone was powering or thinking through blocks. Every point was deliberately stolen and not a single one was given away. At least until the deciding point. The winning, or more appropriately the losing point, was anticlimactic. A missed set from Kenma. Tatsuo felt her jaw drop and her arms fall to her sides. Karasuno had won because there was too much sweat on the ball.

“Did.... Did that really just happen?” Tatsuo asked Ukai who simply nodded.

“Tanka-san, serve up!” Hinata yelled before turning to see the scoreboard.

“It's over idiot,” Kageyama deadpanned.

“It doesn't feel real. The boys really just beat Nekoma. Because of a missed set,” Tatsuo stated as the boys began to fall onto the court, exhausted.

As the whistle blew for the boys to line up and shake hands, the reality of the situation sunk in for Tatsuo. The boys actually won against Nekoma. The one team they hadn't won one set against in all the practice matches they had played. She couldn't help but be overwhelmed by her own emotions and could feel the tears start to stream down her face. She was just so proud of her boys.

“Dragon-chan!” Ryu yelled as he and Noya ran to hug her. She reciprocated and squeezed the sweaty boys tightly.

“You did so well,” Tatsuo couldn't stop the tears or her voice from shaking. “I'm so proud of all of you.”

“Don't cry Suo-chan! We should be celebrating!” Noya yelled as he began to jump up and down.

“No you both need to go change and eat and rest. You have another game today,” Tatsuo said sending them both as stern of a look as she could manage.

“Y-yes ma'am,” Ryu stuttered. Tatsuo might have been crying still but her look was almost deadly and the two boys both knew better than to disobey her. Tatsuo nodded and turned to walk towards Ukai.

“I'm... I'm going to go outside and get some air. Is that okay?” Tatsuo asked.

“Don't stay out too long. You'll catch a cold,” Ukai responded with a nod as Tatsuo started to walk away.

  
  


Tatsuo was so happy for her boys but it felt tainted. With this game behind them Tatsuo should have been focused on their upcoming game with Kamomedai but she couldn't. All she could think about was Sakusa's rejection again. She hadn't had the time to really process it. She was so hurt and confused, what could she have possibly done to have made him dislike her so much from their first meeting?

“Why on Earth would the assistant coach for the team that just beat their rivals be out here crying?” Kuroo's voice made Tatsuo jump.

“I... I just....” Tatsuo couldn't even answer. The dam broke and she was sobbing fully catching Kuroo off guard. He quickly stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her, blocking her from view of the few people wandering around and allowing her to use his shirt as handkerchief.

Kuroo and Tatsuo had formed an odd sort of friendship like she had with Ryu and Noya. When the Golden Week training camp happened he had asked her to coach their extra blocking/spiking practices. The two were oddly similar when she was on the court, though the two couldn't have been more different when she wasn't. They had become very close though through a text friendship and the random photos that Kuroo felt compelled to send her.

“What happened Tatsi?” Kuroo asked as he gently pat her back.

“It's... stupid...” Tatsuo said between sobs.

“If it's making you cry like this then it can't be all that stupid. You're one of the most rational people I know,” Kuroo said with a light squeeze letting her know that he's there for her.

“I met him,” She cried into his chest. Her fist clenched Kuroo's shirt tightly as sobs continued to rack her body.

“You met who?” Kuroo's voice was practically a coo as he began to lightly rub her hair for comfort.

“My... My Soulmate,” Tatsuo's voice was almost indiscernible through her tears now and hearing it made her cry even more. She hated being this vulnerable.

“Soulmate?” Kuroo stiffened at the word. He hated the whole Soulmate thing. He didn't get why a mark that he was born with should tell him who he was supposed to love. Especially when he knew that person wasn't the one that he was in love with. “Who is it?”

“You're... going to... hate... me,” Tatsuo sobbed.

“I could never hate you Tatsi,” Kuroo said as he pushed her back so that he could look into her eyes. “Tell me what happened.”

“It's Sakusa Kiyoomi. He... He rejected... me,” Tatsuo broke into even more violent sobs and Kuroo pulled her back into his chest.

“Sakusa? Itachiyama Sakusa? And he had the nerve to reject you? You?” Kuroo's anger was starting to bubble. Tatsuo tried to calm her sobs so she could explain what happened, it was just so much harder than she thought it would be to talk about.

“After the Inarizaki game, I was recharging. You know, walking around the lobby, when Komori-san bumped into me. He apologized and noticed my mark and told Sakusa-san that it looked like his. He asked me to see the full thing and I just kind of showed it to him. I knew that Sakusa-san had a similar mark, I had seen it but I wasn't sure if it was the same but Komori-san said it was the same as Sakusa-san's. Komori-san said that I'm Sakusa-san's Soulmate,” Tatsuo started to break again. She could see Sakusa's scowl so vividly in her mind. “Sa-Sakusa-san s-said 'She c-can't be my S-Soulmate'.”

“Are you kidding me?” Kuroo grumbled under his breath as he tightened his grip on Tatsuo.

“I-I don't know... what to do. H-how do I-I deal with t-this Tetsi? What... What do I d-do?” Kuroo's heart broke at her desperate plea for help. He couldn't stand how fragile she sounded.

“You need to talk to him,” Kuroo tried to not grit his teeth as he answered her. “You need to have a real conversation with him past the initial meeting.”

“B-but what if... what if h-he really doesn't w-want me?” Tatsuo's voice was barely audible as she continued to sob.

“Then me and Bokuto and Tanaka and Nishinoya will beat him 'til he can't even think of looking at a volleyball anymore,” Kuroo chuckled as he squeezed her again. She giggled a bit herself at him.

“I'm sorry that you had to comfort me after you just lost against my team,” Tatsuo squeezed Kuroo a bit as she apologized.

“Nah, don't worry about it. It was a damn good game,” Kuroo smirked as he let go of her. “I think we should probably get you inside though. It's cold out here and you have another game to coach.”

“Thank you Tetsi, for taking care of me so much,” Tatsuo said before hugging him one more time.

“I'll make sure to stick around to beat that bendy jerk if he's rude to you again. Nobody gets to hurt my Tatsi like that,” Kuroo said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and lead her back into the arena.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the burn out was so so so so real and I kind of disappeared off the face of the Earth for a while because I had absolutely no bandwidth. I'm starting to get back though and make some changes in my life to at least try to break the monotony that was work, sleep, work, sleep, etc. I'm sorry for leaving y'all for so long with just the image of Sakusa being a bit of a jerk but he's still a jerk (for now dun dun DUN!). There will be some more development of the relationships of Tatsuo and Kuroo and Bokuto... I might end up hurting some feelings lol... Anyways! Thanks for reading!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Tatsuo's talk with Kuroo had helped her a lot. She was feeling better and ready to take on the rest of nationals. That of course started with seeing how Bokuto was dealing with Mujinazaka. Kuroo and Tatsuo made their way into the stands to watch the Horned Owl Head play. It wasn't all that surprising to her when she saw Akaashi look up into the stands directly at her. Seemed like he then went directly to Bokuto who then turned and started jumping up and down while waving at her.

Bokuto was the type of person that didn't really seem to pay any attention to Soulmate's and Tatsuo knew that because since the Golden Week training camp he hadn't stopped professing his undying devotion to her. He was as vibrant with his confessions as Ryu was to Kiyoko. Sometimes it was a bit unnerving to Tatsuo to constantly hear but she really appreciated that he was so adamant in his affection. Even in their first meeting he had been almost obnoxious about his feelings.

“Hey hey hey! You're the prettiest girl I've ever seen!” Bokuto had yelled as he approached her much like an owl would a mouse. Tatsuo had proceeded to hide behind Ryu and Noya, though they weren't much of a shield to the boys enthusiasm.

“Thanks, I guess,” Tatsuo's meek response had made him blush and almost trip over himself.

“You're too cute! Will you go out with me?” Bokuto yelled when he regained his composure.

“Uh, sorry but our Marks don't even remotely match,” Tatsuo replied noticing Bokuto's bare neck.

“What? Why does that matter?” His face held genuine confusion at her concerns.

Tatsuo was pretty sure that she would never forget that moment in her whole life. After that she had seriously questioned waiting for her Soulmate to show up, now she kind of wished she hadn't. Given everything that happened with Sakusa, Tatsuo was almost certain that she would be better off having taken Bokuto's offer. She's pretty sure that's what made her wave with such a bright smile back at the boy on the court.

“Did Horns actually win the battle that easy? I put in all that work earlier too,” Kuroo said with a smirk as he sat down and put his hands behind his head.

“What was that?” Tatsuo asked as she took the seat next to him.

“Don't worry about it. Just relax for a little while Tatsi, you've got a game to coach in a little while,” Kuroo responded as he gently pat her head.

  
  


The match ended with Fukurodani coming out on top. It was actually surprising even to Tatsuo but now she had to bring her full attention to the match ahead of her and her boys. Kamomedai was a force to be reckoned with and she was sincerely worried about how the boys' stamina was going to hold out considering it was Hell Day. All thoughts of Soulmates and confessions were driven from her mind as she followed her boys out onto the court, she was in her element and nothing else mattered.

Tatsuo could tell that the boys' were having a bit of an issue getting their muscles loosened up from their match against Nekoma. This was going to be a hard battle to fight but most of them seemed up to it. Well all of them really, except Hinata. Something was off about him but Tatsuo couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong. He was still jumping well and expending his usual amount of energy but something just didn't seem right.

The small boy hadn't really been doing anything out of the ordinary but he seemed out of it. It seemed like it took more effort to gain his attention and he almost seemed more spazzy than usual. He had been like that since they had gotten to Tokyo but she wasn't sure if it was just his usual exuberance. Tatsuo was worried that it would be a problem. When the game started though she put her worries about the Decoy to the back of her mind to focus. That was her biggest mistake.

The first two sets went about as well as she could have expected. They lost the first set and managed to walk away with the second set in their favor. When the third set started Tatsuo couldn't ignore the Hinata problem anymore. His foot work was starting to get sloppy and he was sweating much more than usual. Something was seriously wrong but she had no idea what to do about it. They could switch out players but she wasn't sure if they could win with a substitute. She watched as they fought tooth and nail for every single one of the fourteen points that they earned.

And then Hinata collapsed.

Tatsuo rushed to him as soon as the time out was officially called. She touched her hand lightly to his forehead and almost recoiled from the heat that radiated from him. He had a fever from overworking himself. She hadn't noticed it in time. Tatsuo dropped to her knees after she had moved aside to let Takeda step in to take care of him.

How could she have failed to take care of her player? What kind of coach didn't acknowledge when something was going wrong with their player? Why hadn't she just pulled him out when she first thought something was off?

“It's not your fault. He wouldn't have admitted anything was wrong with him anyways. Don't be so hard on yourself,” Ukai whispered as he pat Tatsuo's shoulder. “Why don't you take him to Yachi? We'll take care of things here. Take some time for yourself and stop beating yourself up.”

Tatsuo nodded and made her way to Hinata. He leaned his body weight into her as they left the court to be met by Yachi in the lobby. His tears were infectious and before she knew it her own were falling down her cheeks. She handed Hinata off to Yachi without a word and headed out to the benches in the lobby. She sat down with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands causing her hair to fall in sheets covering her face from the eyes of any passersby. She sobbed openly and deeply.

“Why are you crying?” The voice was from the last person that she wanted to see at that moment.

“Why do you care?” Tatsuo's voice was small but full of malice. She didn't want to add the Soulmate that rejected her to her current problems.

“Generally most people care about when their Soulmate is in distress as it causes distress to themselves also,” Sakusa's voice was flat and somehow that managed to make Tatsuo more angry at him than sad about the rejection.

“Well since it will inconvenience you so to be distressed over the Soulmate that you rejected's tears, let me tell you!” Tatsuo stood and turned to glare at him though he was at least half a head taller than her. “In the course of four days I have come to nationals with a team that was less than an underdog, found my Soulmate, been rejected by said Soulmate, coached my team to two amazing victories, watched them finally defeat their rivals, been comforted by a friend on that same rival team after the rejection, found out that I rejected a sincere confession from a genuine person, watched as one of my players collapsed due to my lack of care, and found that I'm an unfit coach.”

Sakusa's eyes widened as he watched Tatsuo finish her rant as tears returned to her eyes. He watched the hot tears leak onto her red cheeks. His facial expressions for once not hidden behind a mask. He took a step closer to her but still said nothing.

“Why are you even here?” Tatsuo asked as her glare became more intense.

“We lost,” Sakusa deadpanned.

“Well... Well I'm sorry to hear that,” Tatsuo's anger left her and she suddenly couldn't stand the thought of being in anyone's presence any longer.

“I'm sure there was nothing you could do to prevent anything that happened,” Sakusa replied flatly. It was taking everything in her, and her memory of her chat with Kuroo, to stay where she was. Kuroo was right, she needed to talk to him and she couldn't run away from this.

“Why?” Tatsuo said weakly. Trying to start this conversation wasn't something she was prepared for and the tears were returning.

“You're only a high school student, I'm sure that no one was expecting you to be a professional coach,” Sakusa answered without really understanding the question.

“No! Why.... Why did you reject me?” Tatsuo asked her question a bit more specifically.

“I didn't reject you,” Sakusa replied.

“Tatsi, I think your team is going to need you,” Kuroo's voice called across the lobby.

“We're not done with this,” Tatsuo told Sakusa before turning to run to her team.

  
  


The boys were dejected for sure and dinner was a very solemn affair. Hinata was laying in bed recovering and the other boys were eating dinner. Tatsuo was outside though. She didn't really know what to think.

“He didn't reject me?” Tatsuo asked herself. “If he wasn't rejecting me then how could he possibly say that I couldn't be his Soulmate? Ugh! He is infuriating!”

“Are you talking about Sakusa-san?” Kageyama's voice broke into Tatsuo's conversation with herself.

“Of course I am! First he rejects me then he says that he didn't reject me? How could someone even do that?!” Tatsuo hadn't even noticed Kageyama until she finished. “Wait, how do you know that I'm talking about Sakusa-san?”

“I told you that I thought you were going to meet your Soulmate at nationals,” Kageyama said flatly.

“Yo... You knew!?” Tatsuo's jaw dropped so hard she was sure it hit the floor.

“Well I went to the Youth National Training Camp with him,” The boy shrugged and leaned against the wall across from her.

“Oh, yeah,” Tatsuo still couldn't believe that Kageyama was the one person on her team that knew. Not even Ryu or Noya knew!

“He's a little odd but you two are a lot alike. I thought you two would get along really well,” Kageyama continued. “Why do you think he rejected you?”

“Because he said that I couldn't be his Soulmate. Even after seeing my Mark,” Tatsuo said as she dropped down to sit on the ground, holding her knees to her chest.

“Did he tell you why?” Kageyama never was one to mince his words but Tatsuo was a bit surprised at the blunt question. She hadn't actually thought of it either.

“No he didn't,” She responded burying her face into her arms.

“Sakusa-san doesn't seem like the type to joke around or say things he doesn't mean,” Kageyama rubbed his chin as he continued. “But I think there's a chance that you might have misunderstood what he meant.”

“That doesn't make any sense Tobio-kun. If he doesn't say things he doesn't mean then how could I misunderstand what he said?” Tatsuo lifted her head to give Kageyama an eye roll.

“I think he meant what he said, I just think that he chose a poor way to word it,” He responded scrunching up his face like he was thinking really hard.

“Then what do you think he meant, oh wise one?” She asked sending another eye roll to the setter.

“Errrr.... I don't know! How could I possibly know what he meant?” Kageyama replied crossing his arms with a huff.

“I'm pretty sure that means that I'm right,” Tatsuo muttered covering her face with her arms again.

“You should talk to him about it and clarify what he meant,” Tatsuo hadn't even realized that he could hear her.

“Okay Otosan,” Tatsuo said though it was muffled by her arms. Kageyama huffed again and scowled a little harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! A few days later than I said but I hit some pretty decent inspiration though I do apologize if it seems a bit all over the place... I'm open to constructive criticism so please let me know what you think! Kind of hurt my own feelings a little with this chapter but I'm sure it'll be much worse for at least my feelings in a couple of chapters (maybe more).... I'm going to work hard to make this a good story for you! I have to admit though that this all came from a dream that I had a few months back sooooooooooooooooooooooo yeah it might be a bit odd at the very least so I hope I can convey what I saw in my dream to you guys because I personally loved it lol.... Anyways! Thanks for Reading guys! And I hope you liked it!


	6. Chapter 6

“Sensei?” Tatsuo called for Takeda as he was walking through the lobby fo the Jay Bird Inn.

“Tatsuo-chan, is something wrong?” The teacher asked as he looked her over in concern, it was very out of the ordinary for her to approach him instead of Ukai when they were on a team outing.

“Not really but I needed to let you know that I'm going to stay in Tokyo for a while longer after the closing ceremonies so I won't be going back on the bus with you,” Tatsuo rushed her words trying to finish the conversation quickly. It's not that Takeda made her nervous, in fact he was probably the one adult off the court that made her feel the most at ease, but she didn't really want to have this conversation in the first place. It was all her dad and Kuroo's mom's fault.

“What do you mean? I need to talk to your parents about this. Not to mention you're only excused from classes until the end of the tournament. What's going on?” Takeda motioned for the girl to join him over on a couple of the plush chairs the owners of the inn had set up in the lobby away from the front door.

“It's nothing really, honestly I don't really want to stay but my dad thinks I should,” Tatsuo sighed dejectedly as she took a seat.

“Now why would your dad want you to stay in Tokyo past your excused absences while the team goes back without you?” Takeda was really good at getting to the point without making it feel like he was brushing off what his students had to say and Tatsuo really had to say it was one of his best qualities.

“It's because...” Tatsuo paused to take a deep calming breath. She didn't really feel like she had any more tears to cry over the subject but she definitely didn't want to cry and worry Takeda anymore than he obviously already was. “It's because I met my Soulmate at the tournament.”

“Well that's fantastic news Tatsuo-chan, congratulations,” Takeda beamed at the girl but his smile faltered as he saw the look of sadness etched on her face.

“it would be if he hadn't rejected me,” Tatsuo knew it was unfair for her to still say that Sakusa had rejected her even after he said that he didn't but she couldn't help it. She felt rejected by his actions.

“Oh, I see. Is that why your dad wants you to stay here?” Takeda asked as the girl nodded. “How did this all happen?”

Tatsuo explained the basics of how she had met Sakusa and what he had said to Komori. She also explained Kuroo's part in consoling her and talking her back into a decent state of mind. She even explained how Kageyama had known and even attempted to give her some advice on the subject. Though she never explicitly stated that Sakusa was her Soulmate. She wasn't really ready for anyone else to know that part yet.

“Apparently Tetsuro told his mom and his mom called my dad and told him and he called me and now he wants me to stay with the Kuroo's for a while so that I can talk to him and try to sort it out. Since he lives in Tokyo and I'm already here my dad thinks it'd be better to nip this in the bud now rather than wait,” Tatsuo's head dropped more and more as she explained until she was having to hold it up by her hands with her elbows propped on her knees.

“I think your dad is right in this case. It seems that there's a chance that what he said wasn't what he meant and that he was just caught off guard. I'm by no means an authority on anything to do with Soulmates but I think trying to figure this out early on will prevent a larger heartache later. You should try to keep your head up and look at the positive side of this, you've found your Soulmate. That's more than a lot of the people around you can say, and there's no guarantee that he rejected you from what you've told me. Try not to dwell so long on the possibility of failure and look towards the bright shining future unfolding before you,” Takeda's words were reassuring to say the least but Tatsuo still had a hard time believing that anything positive could come out of this whole situation. “I'll go give your dad a call to verify that you'll be staying and to advise him of what he will need to do to have your absence excused by the school. Don't worry too much.”

Takeda left the girl with a light pat on the head as he walked towards the front door. Tatsuo practically melted out of her chair and into a puddle of melodrama on the floor after the door closed behind him. She knew that she was probably being overdramatic but there was nothing in this world that could make her worry any less or see the positives. She pulled her knees to her chest an sat curled on the floor in front of the chair contemplating the possible outcomes of her staying in Tokyo. She was so deep in thought she hadn't even noticed Noya and Ryu had come to sit on either side of her.

“Soulmate huh? Guess we should congratulate Kageyama on guessing right then,” Noya said causing Tatsuo to startle.

“Gotta wonder who's ass were going to have to kick though,” Ryu's voice was menacing making the girl startle again.

“Don't worry about it guys... It won't even matter by the time I get back home,” Tatsuo responded before burying her face into her arms.

“See that reaction right there is why it maters,” Noya said pulling the girls head up to look at him. “you're one of my best friends. I'm not going to let someone get away with hurting you like this.”

“Yeah, do you think we don't care about you or something?” Ryu asked with a stern look.

“No I know you care about me but this doesn't matter. I'm either rejected or I'm not. It really doesn't matter one way or the other,” Tatsuo said as she looked away from the boys and narrowed her eyes.

“It matters. It made you upset. We know how much you were looking forward to meeting your Soulmate. It's not like you're Kuroo or Bokuto, you genuinely cared about this moment and your Soulmate was inconsiderate enough to reject you. I don't care what his reasonings were, you were hurt. We're not okay with you being hurt. We don't want it happening again,” Noya said with a flat tone.

“He needs to know that you've got people that are going to protect you no matter what,” Ryu said as a dark aura emitted from him.

“Who is it anyways?” Noya asked as he spread his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his hands.

“Sakukakeyyumi” Tatsuo mumbled into her arms.

“What was that?” Ryu asked raising his eyebrow at her.

“Yeah Suo-chan you have to not mumble for us to hear you,” Noya said with a laugh as he looked up at the ceiling.

“Sakusa Kiyoomi,” Tatsuo said more clearly but still in a whisper.

“Wait,” Noya said as him and Ryu turned to stare wide eyed at her.

“You mean-”

“Itachiyama-”

“Sakusa-”

“Kiyoomi?!”

Their yells caused Tatsuo to clutch her ears as they got closer to her face with every word they said.

“You know it's creepy when you guys do that whole back and forth thing right?” Tatsuo said giving them a grimace.

“That's beside the point! Are you seriously talking about Sakusa Kiyoomi? As in one of the top three aces in Japan?” Ryu asked.

“Yes. That Sakusa Kiyoomi,” Tatsuo rolled her eyes.

“That's how Kageyama knew! He cheated!” Noya yelled pointing at Ryu over Tatsuo's head.

“Yeah he doesn't deserve the praise! He knew!” Ryu agreed, also pointing at Noya causing Tatsuo to sweat drop.

  
  


“Tatsi! Over here!” Kuroo called as he waved over at Tatsuo.

“Thanks for waiting for me Tetsi,” She said as she came over to hug Kuroo.

“Hey Tatsuo, you're staying with Kuroo?” Kenma asked as he came to join the pair.

“Yeah... Got a lot of stuff going on,” Tatsuo sighed as she answered.

“Okay let's go. Coach knows I'm going to take you home first so once we get there I'm going to head to school for the meeting with the team. See you soon Kenma,” Kuroo called as he waved to the setter who deflated when a couple of the other members wrapped their arms around him and led him away.

“So what are you going to say to him?” Kuroo asked as they left for the subway station.

“I don't really think that I'm going to say anything. I'll probably ask him to explain what he meant and then listen to him. Everyone that I've talked to since he said that he didn't reject me has made a point to say that maybe he didn't have the right wording,” Tatsuo answered with a sigh.

“Well, not to be a downer, but what if he does reject you? What are you going to do then?” Kuroo asked as he wrapped an arm around her to pull her out of the way of a group of business men.

“I don't really know. Probably join a rejected Soulmates support group or something,” Tatsuo responded as she pulled herself closer to him.

“You'll always have me. If he does reject you, I won't,” Kuroo said as he squeezed her arm a bit.

“Ha ha you're really funny Tetsi,” Tatsuo said as she rolled her eyes. Kuroo didn't say anything in reply but sighed deeply.

The two continued their trek to Kuroo's house in their normal banter. Tatsuo couldn't help but kind of wish that Kuroo had been her Soulmate. Everything would have just been easier. She had always gotten along with him and he definitely wasn't bad to look at. Tatsuo was certain that he would make his Soulmate very happy and she felt that a small part of her would always wish that it was her.

“Tatsuo-chan! It's been so long since I've gotten to see you!” Kuroo's mom was very excitable and Tatsuo knew that but it always made her smile to talk to the woman. She had never actually met her in person but during her and Kuroo's regular video chats she had gotten to know his family the same way that he had gotten to know hers. Somehow their friendship had even brought their parents into a friendship together, though they also hadn't met in person yet.

“It's nice to meet you ma'am,” Tatsuo said with a polite bow.

“No, no, no. None of this ma'am talk! Call me Mom,” Kuroo's mom said as she brought Tatsuo in for a hug.

“Mom don't smother her. She's very shy and you know that,” Kuroo said as he walked into the house, taking off his shoes.

“Please treat me like you would your own parents and our house like your own. I always wanted a daughter, alas I was cursed with a son that has questionable style,” Tatsuo laughed at Kuroo's mom's comment. He definitely got his snarkiness from her.

“Oya? I thought you were happy that you didn't have to deal with 'The emotional baggage that comes with a daughters teenage years,'” Kuroo said making a show of his airquotes.

“Technicalities. Tatsuo-chan is completely different than how I was as a teenager,” She fired back at her son.

“Yeah, probably because she's not your daughter. Come on Tatsi, I'll show you where you'll be staying,” Kuroo beckoned as Tatsuo bowed and ran up the stairs to follow him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty... I got some stuffs written down... I hope that it makes sense and flows alright, especially since i haven't really slept yet lol... I hope that you like it and I hope I started to hurt some feelings with this one other than mine because I know I definitely hurt my own T^T


	7. Chapter 7

When Tatsuo woke up the next morning it took her a moment to remember where she was. It was still a bit irritating to her that she hadn't really gotten much of a say in the whole having to stay in Tokyo situation but she couldn't deny that it was probably the most mature solution. She pulled the blankets tighter around herself as she thought of how she was going to meet up with Sakusa. Every prospect was more terrifying than the last.

“Tatsi, mom made breakfast if you want to come downstairs,” Kuroo called through the door after a light knock.

“O-okay, I'll be just a minute,” Tatsuo of course knew that she was at Kuroo's house but it was still weird to have him come wake her up. She quickly got out of bed and got herself ready for the day before going down the stairs to join Kuroo.

“Tatsuo-chan! I sure hope you're hungry, I made a bit of everything since I wasn't sure what you'd like,” Kuroo's mom said gleefully as she sat down two bowls of rice on the table.

“Oh, you really didn't have to. I'm not picky,” Tatsuo responded as she sat down next to Kuroo who was rolling his eyes at his mother's antics.

“At this rate we'll have to eat these leftovers for a week,” Kuroo complained before his mom smacked him lightly on the shoulder as she passed by him.

“You act like you don't eat six meals a day,” She shot back before sitting down herself.

“Anyways,” Kuroo commented while giving his mom a side eyed glare. “What's your plan for today Tatsi? It's school's free day so, unless you have his contact information, you won't be able to get in touch with Sakusa.”

“I'm not really sure. I need to figure out how to get to Itachiyama and what to say to him. I should probably figure out a good place for us to go so that we can have a bit of privacy too,” Tatsuo responded as she picked up a bit of fish.

“I could take you and show you around the area a bit. There's a couple places that are pretty good for not being noticed in. We can stop and get lunch while we're out so that Mom doesn't make a ridiculous amount of food again,” Kuroo offered his mom a smirk before returning to his own food.

“Yeah, I'd really appreciate that,” Tatsuo smiled at him before munching on some more of the breakfast Kuroo's mom had so graciously made for her.

“Oooo, I'll give you two some extra money for your date then,” Kuroo's mom was practically bursting with excitement as she stood to go grab her wallet.

“You would think that you had brought home your Soulmate the way your mom is acting,” Tatsuo laughed as she took another bite.

“Well she's been looking forward to meeting you for months now,” Kuroo said without looking up from his bowl, though Tatsuo felt like she heard disappointment in his voice.

“I guess it was probably a bit weird for me to say that given the circumstances huh?” Tatsuo said with a nervous chuckle. Kuroo responded by lightly chopping his hand into Tatsuo's head.

“Oi, we're closer than that. You know me better than that,” Kuroo dropped his hand from her head to lightly pinch her cheek. “Don't worry about upsetting me, you could never do that.”

“See you say that now and then you sound different later,” Tatsuo pouted through Kuroo's hold on her cheek.

“What do you want to do after lunch? I'm pretty sure we'll be done with the recon mission before then so do you want to go check out some of the book stores? You were waiting for the next book in the School For Good And Evil series right?” Kuroo asked as he dropped the subject and his hand.

“Sure, sounds good to me. I haven't ever been to any of the book stores up here so that'd be pretty great. Weren't you looking to get some new ankle weights? Is there anywhere around that area that sells them? I could help you find some good ones,” Tatsuo smiled as she began to shovel more food into her face. Kuroo worried her a lot of the time but he was always quick to pick up the mood when that happened.

“Oya? You gonna coach me a bit while you're here?” Kuroo's trademark smirk returned to his face as he started to eat again too.

“You act like you haven't told me your entire training regiment and asked me for advice before,” Tatsuo scoffed.

  
  


After breakfast the two headed out towards Itachiyama Academy. It was a lot closer than Tatsuo had thought it was going to be honestly. With how big Tokyo is she was sure it would be more than an hour of subways and walking but it was actually only about thirty minutes. It made her wonder why Kuroo hadn't just gone there for high school instead, from what she knew it wasn't as hard to get into as Shiratorizawa.

“What're you thinking about so hard Tatsi?” Kuroo asked as the two approached the gate to Itachiyama.

“Why'd you choose Nekoma?” Tatsuo asked as she turned to look at Kuroo.

“I liked their motto,” He responded as he put his hands up behind his head. “Connect. Watching the team when I was younger, it just moved something in me. I wanted to know what it was like to be apart of something bigger than myself, to connect with so many people.”

“Hmm. I guess that really sounds like you,” Tatsuo giggled as she bumped her hip lightly into him.

“Tatsi, can I ask you something?” Kuroo asked as they stopped by the gate.

“When have you ever not asked me something Tetsi?” Tatsuo rolled her eyes at the boy.

“I'm serious,” Kuroo's voice was low and almost hard for Tatsuo to hear. “Why are Soulmates so important to you? I mean what about it is so special to you?”

“I... uh,” Tatsuo was taken aback. She had never been asked that by anyone before. She honestly thought that it was pretty obvious. Wasn't everyone supposed to think that Soulmates were special? “I like knowing that there's someone out there that was meant specifically for me. That no matter what I'm never really alone. I know that there are people out there that really care about me but it's not quite the same.”

Tatsuo turned so that her back was against the wall next to the gate. She tried to form a bit better of a train of thought but it was difficult. Kuroo waited of course, he always seemed to know when she just needed to get her thoughts together. He never pushed her to answer him quickly.

“You know, I've never been really popular. I've almost always been alone, at least until I started being in volleyball clubs. I never really understood why people didn't like me but I guess I'll never be able to understand that. My mom and dad would always tell me about Soulmates though whenever I would come home crying about not having friends. They always told me that there's someone else out there with the same Mark as me that was made to be with me through everything. That I was never really alone in the world. It's the only thing I've ever really had any kind of emotional attachment to,” Tatsuo's head dropped so that her hair covered her face. “I know that I've got friends now, I mean there's always you and Ryu and Noya, but even with how close we are it doesn't feel permanent so I've never really let myself form an emotional attachment to you like that. I know it has to sound awful, but I just don't really know how to let it happen. Like, it would absolutely suck to lose you guys but I'd be able to keep going on with life almost like normal. If my Soulmate really did reject me, then I don't think I'd be able to keep going on with life at all. I think everything would just stop moving.”

“Why can't you just let me take that place if he does reject you?” Kuroo asked making Tatsuo look up at him.

“It doesn't work like that Tetsi. Even if I did, anything we would have would never be permanent,” Tatsuo replied before looking back down at the ground.

“How do you know that it wouldn't be permanent?” Kuroo asked.

“Because you have a Soulmate too Tetsi and I'm not it,” Tatsuo replied flatly.

“Who gives a damn about that?” Kuroo's voice was a bit harsher than he meant it to be but he just couldn't help it after how long he'd been trying to get through to her.

“I'm sure that they do,” Tatsuo's answer was much quieter than he had expected.

“Well, they'll be disappointed when they find out that I'm their Soulmate,” Kuroo said as he turned away from her.

“So you would put someone else through the pain that I'm having to deal with? I think you're better than that Tetsi,” Her voice was still small but the words hit Kuroo like a wood plank.

“I guess you're right,” Kuroo started walking slowly away from the gates. “Come on, I'll show you some of the cafes around here.”

  
  


Though the conversation at Itachiyama's gates had been tense but the two had moved on after they visited a couple of the cafes. Tatsuo had even found one that she was sure would be okay for her to take Sakusa to. By the time that they headed to the nearest book store the two were back to their normal banter. It was as if Kuroo recognized that it was as close as he could come to what he wanted.

“Where would that book even be?” Tatsuo blushed a deep red at Kuroo's question.

“D-don't worry about it I'll find it myself. Just look around for a bit I won't be long,” Tatsuo quickly retreated away from him and disappeared behind the bookcases. It wasn't like it was an odd question but she was sure that he would never let her live it down if he found out that she was buying a book out of the children's section. It was such a good series though.

Tatsuo quickly made her way over to the section she needed and looked around her to make sure Kuroo didn't follow her. She slid between the bookcases looking over the titles as quickly as possible before finally finding what she was looking for. There was even a special edition that she hadn't been expecting.

“Bwahahaha!” Kuroo's laugh was as obnoxious as ever, even if it was usually one of Tatsuo's favorite things about him. “You're buying a children's book?”

“Shh! You're too loud!” Tatsuo whisper yelled at him as her face turned as red as an apple.

“Oh really? Don't want anyone else to realize that you're a high schooler in the children's section of the book store?” Kuroo continued to laugh, though he tried to muffle the sound.

“No, I just didn't want to have you tease me about it. If you ever read anything other than sports magazines then you'd know it's more than just a children's book,” Tatsuo huffed and started walking towards the front of the store.

“I read more than sports magazines,” Kuroo rolled his eyes.

“School books don't count.”

“I wasn't counting those either,” Kuroo shot back.

“Dirty magazines don't count either,” Tatsuo said as she stopped and turned to look at him with a deadpanned look on her face.

“Don't say things like that! It sounds weird coming from someone so quiet!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay well this came out a lot quicker than I thought it was going to. Honestly it went entirely different than I thought it was going to turn out too... I really thought I was going to have Tatsuo confront Sakusa in this chapter lol... Guess my hands had a different idea though I again kind of hurt my own feelings but kinda helped my own mental health writing out part of it... Tatsuo's the first quiet and meek character I've written, most of them are loud and a bit outlandish so it's a bit therapeutic to write her at times... Anyways! I hope you liked it ^_^


	8. Chapter 8

“What are you doing here?” The voice brought Tatsuo out of her thoughts. She had made her way out to Itachiyama when it was time for school to let out and she was waiting by the front gates for Sakusa, though she was stuck in her own head more than she meant to be.

“W-we need to talk,” Tatsuo said without meeting Sakusa's eyes. She had told Kuroo that she was confident in herself about this meeting but that immediately went out the window when she was by herself and face to face, well almost face to face, with her Soulmate. “C-can we go to a c-cafe around here?”

“Sure,” Sakusa nodded and followed Tatsuo, walking on the side closest to the street and constantly looking around. Tatsuo noticed the movement of his head and it unnerved her a bit.

“What are you doing?” Tatsuo's voice was quiet but Sakusa bent down a bit to make sure he heard her.

“Just making sure nothing weird is happening,” He replied as he went back to looking all around them.

“Do you think I would being making you go somewhere so that something weird could happen to you?” Tatsuo asked, the annoyance at the implication making her voice stronger and giving her the confidence to finally look him in the face.

“What are you saying?” Sakusa's mask was covering most of his face but Tatsuo felt like his eyes were accusing her more.

“Ugh... It doesn't matter, let's just get to this cafe so we can get this over with,” Tatsuo threw her hands in the air with an exasperated look before storming off towards the cafe. Sakusa followed, his brow furrowed as he kept a vigilant look out.

  
  


“Would you please sit down so we can talk?” Tatsuo asked in a bit more exasperation as Sakusa glared at the chair in front of him.

“Once I can find some sanitizer to wipe down this chair I will,” He replied as he looked over his shoulder, noticing the cleaning cart still sat out from where an employee had been sweeping up as the two had walked in.

Tatsuo face palmed as Sakusa went over and grabbed a pair of gloves, sanitizer and a cloth towel off of the cart and came back to the table. He continued to sanitize the entire chair, not just the seat, to Tatsuo's dismay. The worker that brought their drinks even looked at her sympathetically before asking Sakusa if he could help him. Of course the spiker said no but Tatsuo just wished he would finish and sit so that she could get this agonizing moment over with.

“Are you finally done?” Tatsuo asked as Sakusa finally sat down and pulled his mask down to take a sip of the drink in front of him.

“You can take risks with your health, I can't,” Sakusa said, once again wounding Tatsuo whether he meant to or not. Did he really not care enough about her to care about her health at least? The thought crossed her mind and Tatsuo immediately recognized the hypocrisy in the thought considering she was just as irritated as he must have been but it still hurt.

“Okay. Well, anyways, I've been told by many people close to me at this point that I need to ask you to clarify your statement from when we first met. So, what exactly did you mean when you said I can't be your Soulmate?” Tatsuo asked with eyes closed before looking up to see Sakusa's confused face, which Tatsuo was beginning to understand looked a lot like his annoyed face if his mouth was covered by his mask.

“I meant exactly that. You can't be my Soulmate,” Sakusa's confused look deepened, as though it was even possible, and Tatsuo simply stood as she diverted her eyes to the floor.

“Well then I guess- I guess I was right.... about the rejection... Sorry to h-have bothered y-you,” Tatsuo moved quickly around from her side of the table to leave. She knew that this had been a bad idea but she had held on to a little bit of hope that maybe, just maybe, she was wrong. She hadn't made it fully past the table when she felt Sakusa's long fingers wrap around her wrist as he stood.

“Rejection? What do you mean rejection?” Sakusa asked as Tatsuo turned and glared at him to prevent tears from falling down her face.

“I mean that you have rejected me! Twice no less!” Tatsuo finally lost the battle and a couple of hot tears streaked down her cheeks as she looked at Sakusa's still confused face.

“I never rejected you!” Sakusa's voice was probably the loudest that Tatsuo had heard it, though still a bit quieter than her earlier outburst.

“How can you possibly saw that? You've told me twice now that I _can't_ be your Soulmate for whatever reason and, unless your friend and I are both completely blind, we both have the same Mark so we are Soulmates whether you like it or not,” Tears still slowly slipped down her face though she fought them as hard as she could.

“I wasn't rejecting you,” Sakusa said as his grip tightened lightly around her wrist. “It's just impossible for you to be my Soulmate.”

“Well, again, unless your friend and I are blind, we. Have. The. Same. Mark,” Tatsuo made sure to punctuate every word about their mark.

“I know. It's not that. I don't really know how to explain other than that,” He said as his brow furrowed harder and he looked down to his hand holding her wrist.

“That doesn't make sense Sakusa-san,” Tatsuo's voice was quiet again and she was losing the war on against her tears.

“Kiyoomi,” Sakusa said equally quietly.

“What?” Tatsuo asked as she looked up at him.

“My name is Kiyoomi,” He said quietly as he kept his eyes locked on his hand holding her wrist.

“Okay...” Tatsuo said drawing Sakusa's eyes away from her wrist and to her face.

“Call me Kiyoomi, please,” He requested as he reached his other hand up to wipe the tears off her cheek. “And stop crying.”

“But why?” Tatsuo couldn't even really think with Sakusa being so close to her now.

“Because I don't like seeing you cry,” Sakusa said matter of factly.

“No, I mean why does it matter what I call you? If I can't be your Soulmate, why do you care what I cal you?” Tatsuo said looking into his face more directly. She thought she might be imagining things but his eyes seemed softer than they had since she had met him.

“Because I want to hear you call my name,” His brow unfurled as he answered making his expression seem really innocent and making Tatsuo's heart ache a bit.

“I... really don't understand you.... Kiyoomi,” Tatsuo added his name as she blushed and looked away from him.

“You're... you're just so clean...” Sakusa said making Tatsuo look up with a question mark scrunched into her face.

“What? What the heck do you mean?” Tatsuo's expression stayed scrunched as Sakusa's eyebrows knit back together in thought.

“You're just so pure. I don't want to taint you,” He replied after a bit of thought.

“That sounds dirty,” She responded as her face dropped.

“No, pure... You don't have any germs. You're clean and pure and perfect and I don't want to accidentally taint you with the germs that I pick up from the disgusting people I have to interact with. You can't be MY Soulmate,” Sakusa finally found the right words to express exactly what he meant.

“Wait... Are... You mean...” Tatsuo started laughing hysterically as tears fell freely from her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Sakusa asked as he moved his hands to her shoulders to help hold her upright.

“You were worried about giving me germs? That's why you think I couldn't be your Soulmate?” Tatsuo kept laughing and held her sides.

“Of course. I don't want you to die,” Sakusa said seriously, stopping Tatsuo's laughter immediately.

“I get the same germs going about my daily life. Why would you think that the germs you could give me would kill me?” Tatsuo asked.

“Because germs will get you sick and if you get sick you'll die,” Sakusa looked down at his feet and dropped his hands from her shoulders to her hands, lightly touching her palms with his fingers and slowly rubbing circles onto the back of her hands with his thumbs. Tatsuo took her hands out his and lightly touched her fingers to his neck, almost asking his permission to move closer to him. He allowed it and she stepped closer to him and locked her fingers together behind his neck.

“I won't die because of your germs. I rarely get sick and I promise I won't die because I catch a cold. But I really might die if my Soulmate keeps trying to push me away or saying things that sounds like he's rejecting me,” Tatsuo explained as Sakusa looked at her a bit apprehensively. She knew that his germophobia must run deeper than she had ever thought it could and that it would take a long time to kind of work that out or get used to it but she wasn't going to budge on this point at this time.

“I can't be the reason you die,” Sakusa said flatly.

“Okay, then you're going to have to stop pushing me away or sounding like you're rejecting me and just accept me as your Soulmate because that's the only way that my death would ever be _your_ fault,” Tatsuo replied defiantly as she narrowed her eyes, daring him to challenge her again. There was a long silence as Sakusa seemed to really consider what she was saying. “Kiyoomi, do you understand me?”

“I guess so,” Sakusa finally gave in with a sigh and Tatsuo pulled down on his neck some and went up on her tiptoes to give him a hug, which he lightly returned after a few breaths.

“Good. Now I guess that's out of the way... I'm sorry that I didn't let you explain earlier,” Tatsuo said as she let go of him to go sit back down at the table.

“I'm sorry you thought I was rejecting you,” Sakusa's voice was flat and Tatsuo was starting to figure that might just be his natural tone. A lot of the time he felt a bit flat and almost apathetic.

“It's okay. I guess that maybe now we should start to actually get to know each other,” Tatsuo said taking a sip of her drink.

“What's your name?” Sakusa asked making Tatsuo's face scrunch up again.

“What do you mean?” She asked as Sakusa raised an eyebrow at her.

“You never told me your name,” He replied as her eyes widened at him.

“Oh! Oh! I'm so sorry!” Tatsuo covered her mouth with both of her hands and blushed a deep red. “I'm Kobayashi Tatsuo.”

“Dragon-chan huh?” Sakusa asked with a light smile in his face as Tatsuo giggled.

“Ryu calls me that,” She said as she continued to giggle. Sakusa's smile left his face as quickly as it had appeared and his lips seemed to purse lightly in a scowl.

“Who's Ryu?” Sakusa asked a bit harshly.

“Tanaka Ryu is the wing spiker for my school in my year. He's one of my best friends along with Noya, whose our Libero,” Tatsuo replied without really noticing the deepening of the scowl on his face.

“What does Noya-san call you?” Sakusa asked again in a harsh tone.

“His actual name is Nishinoya Yuu,” Tatsuo giggled a bit more before answering his question. “Noya calls me Suo-chan.”

“I'll call you Kayda then,” Sakusa said with an almost triumphant smile.

“Where did that even come from?” She asked as she lightly scratched her neck, confused about his new 'nickname' for her.

“It means 'looks like a little dragon',” Sakusa answered though Tatsuo was still confused.

“Why do you need to call me Kayda?” Tatsuo asked trying to gain some clarity.

“I want to call you something special,” Sakusa said with a light blush, diverting his gaze to stare out the window.

“Oh... Okay,” Tatsuo blushed in returned and looked at her hands in her lap. “I like it then, I guess.”

“Good... Kayda,” Sakusa said as he turned to look back at her.

“Okay then... Kiyoomi,” Tatsuo met his gaze briefly as the two proceeded to blush and look away from each other again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know I've been MIA for a while but a WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLE lot happened including a sudden move, some drama with former friends/roommates, looking at a new job in a new field, and watching a shooting happen at my job a few days ago.... No worries though no one was injured at work or anything and everyone is fine but I've had to talk to the police like three times about it.... I'm concerned that this chapter was trash so please please please let me know what you think about it lol.. One person (who i was talking to on snapchat) told me it was full of drama so I'm banking on the "Dr. Phil" drama as he called it... Anyways! I'm back and I'm sorry for taking so long to put this chapter out lol....


	9. Chapter 9

Tatsuo stared at the two outfits in front of her for an obsessively long time. She wasn’t sure which one was better for her date with Sakusa the next day and the simple idea of a date with her soulmate was freaking her out. She knew it was stupid, they obviously were going to get along, so long as she remembered to read between the lines of some of the things he said which made her maybe want to commit a heinous assault on the spiker at times but she knew everything would be fine. So why was she so concerned with how she looked? It was baffling to her.

She sighed before dropping into the chair across from the bed that held the outfits. She had never really worried about something so pointless before. She had never really concerned herself with what people thought about how she looked but apparently that changed when she met her soulmate.

“Hey Tatsi, you still awake?” Kuroo said as he lightly knocked on the door.

“Yeah,” Tatsuo replied still staring at the outfits as Kuroo came through the door.

“Whatcha doin?” He asked as he took in the scene of her tapping her index finger on her bottom teeth as she stared at the outfits on the bed.

“I don’t know what to wear,” she replied without looking at him.

“Probably pajamas,” Kuroo said sarcastically as he laid down on the floor near her.

“Haha very funny Tetsi,” she responded with an eye roll. “I’m trying to figure out what to wear tomorrow.”

“Well it’s winter so unless you have some leggings hidden away somewhere I doubt you’ll really want to wear that dress. Besides, you’ll probably wear a jacket the whole day anyways so the off the shoulder thing is pointless,” Kuroo said as he stretched out a bit.

“Since when are you a fashion expert?” Tatsuo asked as she looked down at him, thinking how cat like he was at times.

“Since my mom made me go shopping with her friends and their daughters. Been doing that since I was about eight,” He answered with a light groan.

“Ah I see. I guess you’re right, the pants and sweater makes the most sense,” Tatsuo got up and folded the dress to put it away in her suitcase before moving her outfit for the next day to the chair she was in. “What’s up?”

“I was just making sure you were good. I know you said he explained everything but I just wanted to make sure you were really okay with his explanation,” kuroo said as he pushed himself up to rest on his elbows.

“I mean, yeah. It was just a miscommunication,” Tatsuo said as she sat down on the floor cross legged beside him. “We’re soulmates but that doesn’t mean we’re going to immediately understand each other. We still have to get to know each other and learn how the other talks and all the little idiosyncrasies that are what makes up the others personalities.”

“But what exactly was the explanation for saying that you ‘can’t be’ his soulmate?” Kuroo asked with an eye roll.

“He... ummmm...” Tatsuo blushed as she thought back to exactly what Sakusa had told her. She knew it wasn’t all that sweet sounding but coming from him, it was probably the sweetest thing he would ever tell her. “H-he said that I was too pure.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Kuroo said flatly as he stood up immediately.

“Woah! Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah!” Tatsuo said as she grabbed his wrist to pull him back to the floor. “Not like that! He meant like clean. No germs. He’s a germophobe.”

“Hah?” Kuroo asked with a question mark scrunched into his face.

“Yeah. He said that he didn’t want to infect me with the germs he picks up from the people around him because he’s scared I’ll die,” Tatsuo’s blush returned as she spoke the words aloud herself for the first time.

“You do realize that’s super weird right?” Kuroo asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“I know but do you really think I would have a normal soulmate? I mean I’m weird too,” Tatsuo said giving him a deadpanned look.

“Yeah but you’re not THAT kind of weird,” Kuroo responded with a sweat drop.

“Whatever Tetsi,” she said as she lightly kicked his leg.

  
  


“Kayda,” Sakusa called lightly as he approached his soulmate.

“Hi Kiyoomi,” Tatsuo replied as she turned to face him.

“Have you waited long?” He asked while she fiddled nervously with her bag.

“Oh, no. I just got here a few minutes ago,” Sakusa noticed a light pink dusted her cheeks as she looked away from him.

“Good. So what would you like to do?” He asked as she fiddled a bit more with her bag.

“Uh, I, uh, don’t really know. I figured we, uh, we could do something that you want,” Tatsuo’s blush darkened as she answered. She hadn’t thought to really plan out this interaction as she had when she confronted him. She was regretting that desperately at that moment.

“Would you like to go to a bookstore with me? There are a few books I wanted to get,” He asked while looking down at her. He couldn’t really figure out why she seemed so nervous.

“Yeah, that sounds g-good,” she answered bring her hands together in front of her and interlacing her fingers to try to stop her nervous fidgeting.

Sakusa nodded before reaching out and grabbing one of her hands, successfully unlocking her fingers from each other. His fingers soon took the place of her own and Tatsuo felt her face burning from the contact. She peeked up at him through her lashes and noticed that the tips of his ears were a bit pink. She couldn’t really tell if he was blushing or just cold but whatever the case, he held her hand as he lead the way to the bookstore.

“So what kind of books do you like?” Tatsuo asked as the two walked down the street hand in hand.

“It sounds stupid,” Sakusa answered as he turned his head away from her.

“If it makes you feel any better I just bought a book from the children's section the other day with Tetsi,” She giggled as Sakusa looked at her with his brow furrowed.

“The children's section? What book could you possibly want from the children's section?” He asked as he looked into her eyes.

“It's a book in a series called The School For Good And Evil and it's like a different take on fairy tales and how and why they are made. It sounds stupid too but it's actually a really interesting book to read,” She said as she smiled brightly at him.

“There's a book called Ready Player One that I want to read. I've heard it has some really interesting ideas on virtual reality and the direction that it's going to lead society,” Sakusa said as he reached up to scratch the back of his head.

“You're going to read Ready Player One for the social commentary and not the actual awesome adventure story that requires the main character to figure out riddles based on 80's American pop culture?” Tatsuo asked as Sakusa chuckled at her.

“I don't really know all that much about it but I know that a movie is being made soon and it seems really interesting. Have you actually read the book?” He asked as Tatsuo laughed boisterously.

“Yes I have. It's one of my favorite books honestly. I've read it a lot, I have the ebook and a paperback copy that I carry in my backpack at all times. I read it on the bus on the way to Nationals the other day,” As she explained the two reached the book store. As they made their way in, a man ran into Tatsuo, almost knocking her to the ground. If it hadn't been for Sakusa's hand she would have fallen directly on her butt.

“Ah, I'm sorry,” the man apologized and bowed his head to the two as he went on his way.

“Are you okay? Let's get inside and I'll clean your jacket. Hurry up and take it off before his germs infect you,” Sakusa said as he quickly pulled her inside.

“Kiyoomi it's okay. I'm not going to get infected that quickly. You can Lysol my jacket if it makes you feel better but it's not going to spread that fast so calm down a bit for me. Please?” Tatsuo said as she patted his hand that was still holding her own.

“Okay. I will try but let's go inside and you have to take your jacket off,” He said as he frowned deeply at her.

Tatsuo rolled her eyes lightly but followed Sakusa's lead into the book store. As soon as she was in the store she felt Sakusa's hands on her shoulders, pulling her jacket down her arms. She giggled a bit as she turned to watch him hold it in front of him between his index finger and thumb as though it was radioactive and he didn't want to be holding it. He dug around in his bag as he pulled the jacket away from her attempts to hold it so that he could use both hands to search for his disinfectant.

“No. If you touch it, it defeats the purpose,” Sakusa said, causing the girl to giggle more.

“You know? I think we're going to have to work on how severe your germaphobia is. I don't know that I can live my whole life smelling like I just walked out of a Lysol shower,” Tatsuo said as she continued to giggle.

“You're going to kill me,” Sakusa said with a flat look at her as he continued to spray her jacket.

“No, I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to try to help you improve your quality of life by lessening your irrational fear just a bit,” She said as she reached out to take her jacket back once they started getting weird looks from the book store staff. “It's okay to try to be safe and keep yourself from getting sick, but there is such a thing as being too careful. You can actually make yourself sick by keeping yourself in a sterile bubble.”

“You're out of your mind,” He responded as he put away his disinfectant and grabbed her hand again. “Come on let's get this book and then we can go get some food.”

“Then where do you expect to be comfortable enough to eat?” Tatsuo said with a sarcastic smirk.

“I'll be fine as long as the staff is willing to clean the table and I have my disinfectant today so I can clean my chair,” He responded proudly.

“I can't believe that you have somehow managed to become such a talented volleyball player with how ridiculous you are,” Tatsuo laughed and followed him as he lead the way to the section holding Ready Player One.

“I always shower directly after every practice and every game. I don't even wait for the team huddle to happen,” Tatsuo couldn't help the way her jaw dropped at his explanation.

“You do realize that that still makes absolutely no sense right? You've literally got other people's sweat all over you from where you touched the ball and then touched your uniform, or your kneepads, or your arms. You literally cover yourself in other people's germs for an entire game and only wash it off once you've finished the game, thanked the other team, thanked the people in the stands, and listened to your coach's final words before heading back to the showers. Even if you miss the final huddle you're still covered in other people's germs for at least an hour if not more,” Sakusa stopped dead in his tracks and she spoke to him. He had never really honestly considered it before but she was right.

“Maybe you're right, but right now I'd rather keep up my routine and also keep you clean too,” He said as he lightly tugged her hand so that she stepped a bit closer to him so he could pat her head. “I just don't want anything to happen to you Kayda.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I am so so so so so sorry for the delay on this chapter and I hope it lives up to expectations. honestly I'm not so sure how it is and I'm pretty sure I had a stroke while writing it (My friend Angie has the voice note proof that something happened in my brain and I straight blacked out for a minute). Anyways just so you know I don't have very much left for this story so only a few more chapters but at the rate it's going I think I'm going to have just as tough of a time writing it because I have been head empty no thoughts except My Hero Academia for like three weeks minimum and I keep getting new ideas for stories for that and I can't seem to get anything substantial written for anything else even though I've also got an Ushijima Soulmate AU that I've started writing too buuuuuuuuutttttttttt that will be a very long time before it's released. I will probably try to put the Ushijima story out after I finish and publish the Fatgum story I've been working on because Fatgum deserves so much more love!!!!!!! Okay so anyways! Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think of this chapter please!


	10. Chapter 10

“Where do I need to meet you at?” Sakusa's voice came over the speaker of the phone as she paced in front of Coach Ukai's store.

“It's called Sakanoshita Market. Why didn't you just let me meet you at the train station?” Tatsuo asked as she shook her head.

“It was impractical. You want to introduce me to your teammates and friends that you said were all at your school which is in the opposite direction of your house from the train station. You would spend more time walking than being able to be with your friends,” Tatsuo sweat dropped at his explanation and looked over her shoulder to see all of the boys in the store eating meat buns.

“I know you're right but I'm a bit worried,” Tatsuo and Sakusa had been planning this whole trip for a week, ever since she had gotten back from Tokyo. She still wasn't quite sure how she felt about Sakusa meeting her parents or friends but it had to happen sooner or later.

“Why would you be worried? Ah, I see you now,” Tatsuo's head shot up and she looked down the street both ways before she spotted him. She hung up her phone and nuzzled a bit into her scarf before waving lightly at him.

“The city boy here Dragon-chan?” Ryu asked as him and Noya came out of the store with their best intimidation faces on.

“Yes Kiyoomi is here,” Tatsuo said as she rolled her eyes at their antics.

“I still don't like that you're already on a first name basis with him Suo-chan,” Noya said as he puffed out his chest.

“You started calling me Suo-chan the first day that we met,” She responded under her breath and face palming.

“Kayda,” Sakusa said as he closed the small gap left between them. Before he could reach out to touch her Noya and Ryu stepped in front of her.

“You think you can just touch our manager like that? You lookin' to rumble city boy?” Ryu asked as he glared at Sakusa.

“Yeah you can't think that just because you're her Soulmate that you have some kind of claim on her!” Noya said as he joined Ryu in glaring.

“I'm pretty sure that's exactly what the point of Soulmates is. I have a claim on her and she has a claim on me,” As Sakusa replied, Tatsuo's face burned brightly. Hearing him say that she had a claim on him made her heart do things that she was pretty sure it shouldn't be doing.

“Ehhh?!” Ryu yelled before Daichi came out of the store.

“Tanaka! Nishinoya! Stop trying to intimidate him!” Daichi turned and bowed slightly to Sakusa, making Ryu and Noya bow too. “Sorry, they're pretty harmless but they're very protective of our managers.”

“It's okay. Kayda warned me about them already,” Sakusa said as he bowed back to Daichi. “I haven't known her for very long but I think I'd be just as protective of her.”

“Noya-san! Can you- Sakusa-san?!” Hinata yelled as he came barreling out of the store and skidded to a stop in front of Sakusa.

“You're the chibi-chan middle blocker,” Sakusa said as he looked down at Hinata with a furrowed brow. Tatsuo saw the first year shiver and sweat dropped again.

“Guys, why don't we all go inside where it's warm? Kiyoomi did just walk here from the train station to meet you all,” She said as she motioned towards the door to allow the boys to enter first.

“I walked all the way here from the train station to see you not to meet them,” Sakusa said as he stopped by her. She shook her head as she reached out to grab his hand so that they could enter the store together.

“Volleyball! Keep it down! You're gonna scare away all my customers!” Ukai yelled as he came over to the group.

“What customers?” Tsukishima said as he furrowed his brow.

“Watch it glasses! I'm still your coach,” Ukai said as he made a mental count of all the kids. “Are there more of you than usual?”

“Coach, this is Sakusa. My Soulmate,” Tatsuo answered with a blush creeping back onto her face.

“Soulmate?” Ukai asked as he turned to look at Sakusa. “He's the reason you cried in Tokyo?”

“Am I the only one worried about what the universe was thinking by pairing a top three ace with our Dragon coach?” Asahi asked as he scratched his cheek.

“Probably that it would be just the right amount of obsession in two people to make a viable relationship,” Sugawara answered with a light chuckle.

“I don't think the universe is fully prepared for Kobayashi-san being together with a top three ace,” Yamaguchi added.

“Why do you guys act like I'm scary and only obsessed with volleyball?” Tatsuo asked quietly.

“Because you are terrifying and only obsessed with volleyball,” Kageyama answered flatly before sipping on his milk.

“I like things other than volleyball,” She responded as she nuzzled deeper into her scarf, drawing Sakusa's eyes to her.

“I want to learn all the things you like,” Sakusa said making Tatsuo's eyes widen and her face flush even more deeply.

“Oi! City boy! Don't try to make moves on her in front of us!” Ryu yelled only to get hit on the head with Ukai's newspaper.

“Stop yelling,” Ukai said before turning to address Sakusa. “So you're the one that made my assistant coach cry.”

“Coach!” Tatsuo yelled as she turned to look at him.

“I did,” Sakusa said before Ukai could respond, drawing everyone's eyes. “I used a very poor choice of words when I found out that Kayda was my Soulmate. I made her believe that I was rejecting her even though that was never my intention. I am sorry for having hurt her and having hurt any of you by extension.”

“Uh, I don't think we're the ones you need to apologize to,” Daichi said, waving his hands in front of himself, as Sakusa bowed deeply.

“Yeah you should be apologizing to Suo-chan. She's the one that cried over you. She's the one that had her dream of meeting her Soulmate shattered,” Noya said very calmly, causing Tatsuo to worry more deeply than she had before. Noya was never this calm.

“It's okay Noya, he-” Sakusa cut her off, speaking directly to Noya.

“I know that I won't ever understand entirely the wrong that I have done to her but I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to her,” Tatsuo turned to face Sakusa, she was a bit irritated that she was being spoken over but his words overpowered that feeling. She tightened her hold on his hand as he turned to look at her. He didn't fail to notice the tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.

“Alright then. I expect that you'll help her to become a great coach one day for a national team,” Ukai said with a smirk, successfully lightening the mood.

“I don't think I'll ever be that good of a coach,” Tatsuo said through a strained smile.

“Are you kidding me?” Tsukishima said with a grimace.

“What?” Tatsuo asked in surprise.

“You're good enough to be a professional coach now. You motivate the team and analyze play styles for the competition quickly. About the only thing your missing is the first aid and health knowledge that most coaches have. If you study sports medicine then I'm sure that you'll end up being a national team's coach in no time,” Tsukishima responded as Yamaguchi nodded excitedly beside him.

“Th-thank you Tsukishima-kun,” Tatsuo said with wide eyes.

“Okay, okay. I think we've all had more than enough of an introduction. I'm sure that you two have better things to do than hang out with us,” Sugawara said with a bright smile at the couple.

“O-okay. I kind of feel bad because I was fully expecting the introduction to you guys to be a little longer. I thought we were going to all hang out a bit,” Tatsuo said as she scratched the back of her neck.

“If you don't leave now I'm pretty sure that Tanaka-san and Noya-san are going to try to fight Sakusa-san,” Kageyama said as he stood to throw away his milk carton.

“Okay. Ryu, Noya, Kiyoomi is staying for the weekend so we can all meet up later. You guys better not be trying to intimidate him anymore though. I want you all to be friends,” Tatsuo said before saying her goodbyes.

“Fine. I'll try to be nice next time,” Ryu said as he continued to glare at Sakusa.

“I guess I can try for you Suo-chan,” Noya said as he waved her off.

The rest of the team waved as Tatsuo and Sakusa walked out of the store hand in hand. They were all happy to see that Tatsuo had found her Soulmate and that he seemed to be someone that fit so well into her life. Tatsuo had expected Ryu and Noya's reaction but she really hadn't expected the rest of the guys and Ukai to act the way they had. It was heartwarming to her to see how much they actually cared about her.

“Your friends really do care about you,” Sakusa said once they were clear of the storefront. “I'm glad to know that when I'm not around, you have people to take care of you and protect you.”

“Did you eat pancakes today or something?” Tatsuo asked as she looked up at him confused.

“Why do you want to know what I've eaten today?” Sakusa said looking just as confused at her.

“You're being really sappy today so I figured you had too much syrup on your pancakes today,” Tatsuo replied. Sakusa stopped walking when she answered and turned her to look at him.

“I'm not particularly good at saying how I feel and showing my emotions. I've always had trouble with that and Komori has had to help me for years with it. After you thought I rejected you I made the decision to always try to tell you what I'm thinking and how I feel as best I can. I don't want you to ever misunderstand me again,” Tatsuo felt her face heat up at his words and Sakusa reached up to lightly touch her cheek.

“You don't have to worry. This is a learning process for both of us. You don't need to push yourself so much,” Tatsuo said as she reached up to caress the hand he had on her cheek. “I'll love you just the same no matter what.”

A deep silence formed between the two. Tatsuo realized what she said and was trying her best to fight the embarrassment that was telling her to run away. Sakusa had frozen entirely solid like a statue. The two stood, staring at each other, as the silence stretched on for it's own eternity. Eventually Sakusa seemed to come back to himself and pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

“I, um, I didn't- uh,” Tatsuo was trying to figure out how to take her words back without being insulting. She knew that she had deep feelings for him already but she also knew that they had only recognized each other as Soulmates for a short time. She wasn't really sure if there was a standard operating procedure on when you could or should tell your Soulmate that you loved them but she was pretty sure that this was not correct.

“I love you too,” Sakusa said as he tightened his hold on her. “So very much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not think that I would be able to write this chapter this quick but I did it! I hope you all like it because I must admit my hands got away from me and what was supposed to only be half a chapter of interaction between the team and Sakusa ended up being the whole chapter lol.... Also I know it might feel weird that they said I love you before they even kissed buuuuuuutttttttttt Idk I feel like it makes more sense for them. I hope you all like it though and we're now very close to the end! Also if you want to check it out I have a teaser up for my Fatgum story, it's the first two chapters, and I'd love to hear what you think of the thing that has taken up most of my creative bandwidth the last few months lol. Also I have a TikTok where I do head canons, most are for My Hero right now but I do take requests! So if you want to check that out it's @bingurani... As always, thank you for reading!


End file.
